Meta reaches settlement before first federal social media addiction bellwether trial

Meta and Breathitt County Schools, the first bellwether plaintiff in the multidistrict litigation over adolescent social media addiction, reached a settlement ahead of trial, according to court documents and a spokesperson for the plaintiffs' attorneys.

The parties jointly stipulated late Wednesday that the claims against Meta, represented by Covington & Burling LLP, would voluntarily be dismissed. In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, 4:22-md-03047 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 6, 2022). 

The three other defendants in the case -- YouTube, Snap and TikTok -- settled late last week.

Trial was slated to begin the week of June 15. The next bellwether plaintiff, Tucson (Ariz.) Unified School District is scheduled to go to trial in January 2027, according to the plaintiffs' spokesperson.

Breathitt is represented by Ronald E. Johnson of HJV Car Accident Personal Injury Lawyers, while Lexi J. Hazam of Lieff Cabraser and Previn Warren of Motley Rice LLC serve as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the MDL. Christopher A. Seeger of Seeger Weiss LLP serves as their lead settlement counsel.

"Our focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases," the group said in a statement.

The four companies still face claims from dozens of state attorneys general, scheduled to go to trial in August.

Breathitt, one of hundreds of school districts to sue the social media companies, alleged they knowingly designed their platforms to be addictive to children and teens. The school districts claim social media addiction harms students' mental health, disrupts the learning environment, and diverts time and resources away from instruction.

The tech companies argued they were protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields technology companies from liability for content posted on their platforms by third parties. But U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers let the claims move forward, finding some of the allegations surrounded the apps' design and not content. Gonzalez Rogers narrowed the scope of the claims, to exclude anything relying on content and plans to instruct the jury that the companies can't be found liable on the basis of content posted to their platforms.  

In a state court case over similar allegations, Snap and TikTok settled ahead of trial while Meta and YouTube went to trial. Meta and YouTube were found liable by a Los Angeles jury in March -- $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages. Meta was apportioned 70% of fault.